Box partitioning and method of making the same



April 14, 1925. 1,534,006

L. E. LA BOMBARD ET AL BOX PARTITIONING AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAMEFiled July 2 1921 Fig.6. gw

Patented Apr. 14,, 1925.

ASSIGNORS TO SPECIALTY AUTOMATIC MACHINE COMPANY, OF CHELSEA, MASSA- I1,534,005 UNITED STATES PATENT orrrcs LEON E. LA BO'MBARD AND MELVIN n.sinnsotrneivr, or CHELSEA, MASSACHUSETTS,

CHUSETTS, A OORLPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

BOX PARTITIONING AND METHOD OF MAKING- THE SAME.

Application filed July 2,

1 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, LEON E. LA Borr- BARD and MELVINTL SrnnBo'rrIAM,citizens of the United States, and residents of Chelsea, in the countyof Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Box Partitioning and Methods of Making the Same,of which the following is a specification. v

This invention relates to partitions of the folding or collapsible typeadapted to be so opened or set up and placed in a box as to formsubstantially square cells or pockets for receiving'fragile articlessuch as eggs. Partitions of this type are usually made of pasteboard inthe form of strips partially slotted or slitted transversely to enablethe strips to cross each other and be interengaged. Some devices of thischaracter heretoforemade consist of strips having narrow slits made bysimple cuts without removing any material and others consist of stripshaving enough of the material cut out to form slots. Those of the firsttype retain relative positions, by friction, fairly well, but the stripsare difficult toassemble or interengage, and besides are not entirelysatisfactory in use because when opened up and set in a boX the cellsfor the articles are not square. This is due to the fact that when theassemblage of strips is opened from collapsed condition the mouths ofthe slits are spread laterally by the action of the continuous portionsof the other strips which are in those slits, so that, when forced intoa box, the opposite sides or edges of each-slit mouth bears against thecontinuous material traversing said mouth at points quite far apart. Theresult is to distort the several partitions of the unit so that it isnot easy to fit the unit into a boX and square cells are not presented.

The other well-known type referred to, having material cut out to form.slots instead of slits, can be opened readily to pre sent square cells,but unless the strips are' formed with some interlocking members theyfall apart too readily. And the formas tion of interlocking members addsto the expense of production.

l/Vith either type, so far as we are aware, it is impracticable toassemble the strips by machinery to form units in collapsed conditionexcepting by machines which also form 1921. Serial No, 482,033.

the strips, cutting them from a web of ma terial.

An important object of our present invention is to provide a structurewhich will enable the strips to be assembled automatically by machinery,such as illustrated in Let-- tors Patent No. 1,523,652, granted to usJanuaryQO, 1925, the strips being made from pieces of material such asthose resulting from cutting various forms of boX blanks and which havebeen regarded as waste.

Another object of our invention is to pro vlde a structure that willenable the strips to hold together by friction and not requireinterlocking portions of the strips andyet will enable the collapsedunit to be opened up for use and present square cells, and which willalso enable the strips to passby right angular relative positions. Inother words, the strips will fold in either direction from right angularrelative positions.

With these objects in View, our invention consists in the cellpartitioning, and the method of producing the units substantially ashereinafter described and claimed,

Of the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cell unit as it appears when openedup ready for insertion in a box.

Figures 2 and 3 are elevations of the longitudinal and transversestrips;

Figures 4, 5 and 6 are perspective views illustrating steps in theformation or assemblage of the strips to form a collapsed unit The unitillustrated is designed to fit a popular form of box for holding onedoze-n eggs, said unit comprising two strips a and three strips b.Since, for such form of box the strips a are longer than the strips 6,the former may be termed longitudinal strips and the latter transversestrips. Except for the difference in length and the consequent;difference in the number of slits and notches therein, the strips aand?) are substantially1 duplicate of each other. It is to be understoodof course that we do not limit ourselves to the employment of a total oflive strips, nor to the specific proportions illus--' trated, as thesame may vary according to.

bottom of each notch communicating with a relatively short cut or slit3/ the lower or inner end of which terminates at said midwidth. Thisslit is preferably formed with a knife which will out without removingany of the material so that, when the several strips are assembled aspresently described, the sides of each slit will necessarily bind on soas to frictionally engage the opposite surfaces of the crossing strip inline with a slit thereof. As these slits z are short and only near themid-width thereof, there are no edge walls adjacent to the edges of thestrips to spread laterally and abut against the crossing strips tointerfere with opening up the unit to present square cells, or interferewith collapsing the unit in either direction.

In order that the strips may be assembled by the machine illustrated inthe patent hereinbefore referred to, or by the manually effected methodpresently described, the slits g are, as shown in the drawings, of lesslength than the depth of the notches a which communicate therewith. Itis, of course, es-

sential that the lower or inner ends of the slits shall terminatesubstantially at the midwidth of the strips so as to limit the relativemovements of the strips when assembled to correct positions with theedges of all strips in uniform planes. Therefore, in order to providenotches deep enough to support the cross strips '6 in the positionsshown in Figure 4 during the assembling as 1 presently described, theslits y are quite short as stated.

The slits {1/ are not slots, but are formed without removing any of thematerial of the strips and therefore the spaces formed by the slits (ifthey can be termed spaces at all) are of less width than the thicknessof the material of the strips. As will presentlybe understood, thisstructure ensures the retention of the strips of the entire unit inproper relative positions for shipment or use, without employing anylocking shoulders or securing cords. slits bear with suflicient frictionagainst the surfaces of the engaged strips to hold all of the assembledstrips in the relative positions shown in Figure 6. r

The method of assembling the strips to form a unit is illustrated byFigures i, 5 and 6.

First, either manually or by suitable appliances, or by automaticmachinery, two strips (1 are caused to occupy upright parallel positionswith their notches 00 presented upwardly, and then three strips 6 aredropped to the positions shown in Figure 4 with the apexes of theirdownwardly opening notches resting in and crossing the apez ces of theupwardly opening notches of the strips (1. The notches are so wide thatthis assemblage requires no particular man- The sides of the ual skillor mechanical accuracy. And the notches are so deep that when the stripsZ) are dropped as explained they will rest in the slanting positionshown in Figure t without being held or steadied. That is, the notchesbeing deep, the strips a steady the strips 6 in positions sufficientlynear to upright to enable the next step to be performed. The said nextstep consists in moving one of the strips a longitudinally relatively tothe other strip a, or in moving the two strips a, a slightly in oppositedirections, letting them also approach each other. This swing-s thestrips 5, b, 7), toward each other until they lie in substantially theposition shown in Figure 5, with their side surfaces in alternatecontact, or near contact, with the side surfaces of the'strips a, a.Vith the strips now in this position, and whether held in their uprightcollapsed condition by hand or by elements of a machine, the strips aandb so steady each other that it is easy to push the three strips b, '1),7), down to cause all their slits y to simultaneously slide down throughand past the slits 3/ of the two strips a, a to the position shown inFigure 6, the unit being then ready for shipmentor storage with others,until such time as set up to the form shown in Figure 1. Whether theunit is folded as in Figure 6, or open as in Figure 1, the strips areheld together solely by the frictional engagement of the sides of theslits with the surfaces of the strips engaged thereby. As a matter offact, the machine illustrated in our patent hereinbefore referred toperformsall the operations described, the strips in the condition shownin Figure 5 being carried along between two closely adjacent belts whilea presseracts on the strips 6, 'Z), Z), to push them' down.

The deep- V-notehes serve three purposes, viz: they facilitate theassemblage of the strips a. and b, they steady the strips 1) b 5 whilein the position shown in Figure 4, and they prevent the existence of anyslit edges to obstruct collapsing in' either one direction or the other.Said notches also permit the upper and lower portions of all the stripsto yield laterally so that, no matter which way the set up unit isfitted in a box, each and every cell presents yielding walls at itsmouth or entrance. This facilt tates the placing of eggs in the cells ortheir removal therefrom, because the top of each cell can be spread. Aseggs are largest at about their mid-length, said largest portions are inthe plane'of that portion'of the unit where the slits y operate toprevent shifting of the strips out of their proper relative positionsfor use. It is .su'flicient, for all practical purposes to cooperativelybrace the strips at only their mid-width. This is accomplished by theshort slits 3 while the deep V-notches 00 permit the walls of each cellto yield at the mouth thereof when placing or removing an egg.

Having now described our invention, We claim:

1. Box partitioning cinprising two sets of strips crossing each other,each of said strips having notches formed in one edge only and a slitmade without the removal of material communicating with the apex of eachnotch, the slits of each set frictionally engaging uncut portions of theother set, the said notches having such depth that prior to completeassembly the strips of the upper set may be temporarily supported insubstantially vertical positions by the sides of the notches of thelower set.

2. The method of making partitioning for boxes, consisting in formingtwo sets of strips each having notches formed in one edge only and aslit made without the removal of material communicating with the apex ofeach notch, supporting the strips of the lower set substantiallyvertical with their notches opening upwardly, depositing the strips ofthe upper set loosely crosswise on the lower set and permitting them torestin substantially vertical positions with vthe apexes of theirnotches resting on and loosely supported by the apexes of the lower set,then collapsing the strips to flatwise relationship to steady themagainst each other, and then shifting the strips edgewise to cause thecooperating slits to frictionally engage uncut portions of the strips.

In testimony whereof we have affixed our I signatures.

LEON E. LA BOMBARD. MELVIN H. vSIDEBOTHAM.

